They may have lost the cup but they have won a billion hearts. The Indian women’s cricket team fell agonisingly short of the target at Lord’s in the final against England. However, in getting that far and raising the anticipation in the nation of such an accomplishment, the women cricketers may have opened the eyes of sports lovers to the honesty of endeavour. They tried their best and may have panicked at the finish when steady run gathering was all that was required. What they demonstrated in their coruscating run to the final of the World Cup was that there is plenty of sporting talent in India and the people should be less condescending when it comes to assessing the efforts of women in sport.
When asked to name her favourite cricketer — from among the men, of course — the skipper Mithali Raj made a revealing comment in asking if men cricketers would be asked the same question. Maybe, after the Lord’s showing, the multimillionaire super stars, along with the rest of India, would look at women’s cricket with a new perspective. It may be too early to ask for a women’s IPL, which is to do with creating a commercial demand. The women can at least look forward to greater recognition, higher contracts and good infrastructure.
The women’s cricket movement was about diligence without thought of reward in a game to be enjoyed. Since coming under the fold of the BCCI, Indian women’s cricket has been better off in terms of player pay and facilities, besides access to coaches. Now that much public interest has been generated thanks to the deeds of Harmanpreet Kaur, Punam Raut and many others, the players might get greater support and recognition. Whether that would translate into riches for the game and the women cricketers is a million dollar question.
